Feed and Care of the Horse. 313 



494. The foal. It is of the highest importance in horse rearing 

 that the young start life in full health and vigor, and to this end 

 the foal should very soon after birth take a good draught of the 

 colostrum or first milk of the dam. Colostrum possesses purga- 

 tive properties which tend to discharge from the alimentary tract 

 the faecal matters collected therein during foetal life. If this 

 result is not accomplished naturally, a gentle purgative of castor 

 oil should be administered. With the bowels cleared, the foal 

 is in condition to utilize the more natural milk of the dam which 

 follows, gaining strength and increasing in weight from the start. 

 There are several dangers to the life of the young foal which 

 should be carefully guarded against. Some dams, more fre- 

 quently those with their first foal and those hard worked, fail 

 to supply the proper amount of nourishment, and the young lan- 

 guish. In such cases the mare should be provided with food 

 which will stimulate the milk flow; good pasture grass is of course 

 the best, but if this is absent concentrates should be given in the 

 shape of oats, rolled barley or wheat bran, with an equal weight 

 of corn or corn and cob meal. Not infrequently the foal suffers 

 from an over-supply of nourishment or because the milk is too 

 rich, or from both combined, and the indigestion resulting may 

 terminate in diarrhoea. In such cases the food allowance of the 

 dam should be restricted and some of her milk drawn by the 

 attendant, remembering always that the last milk carries the most 

 fat, which substance is usually the disturbing element. 



After foaling, the mare should be confined for a few days, her 

 feed being simple in character and not too abundant; with favora- 

 ble conditions, at the end of a week she should be turned to pasture, 

 with proper protection for herself and foal from the inclemencies 

 of the weather. Under favorable conditions the dam and foal 

 will shift for themselves, but watchfulness should never cease 

 in noting thrift and progress and checking the first appearance 

 of ailment. Diarrhoea brought on by over-feeding or exposure 

 to inclement weather is a common trouble and should be checked 

 at once. Parched flour, rice-meal gruel and boiled milk are all 

 excellent correctives for this ailment. Constipation, the other 

 common evil, may be relieved by the use of castor oil and by 



